Refrigerator.



No. 665,8!4. Patented Jan. a, law.

H. TRUST.

BEFRIGERATDR.

lication filed. July 12, 1900.) (No Model.) a sheets-sheet s.

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H. TRUST. REFRIGERATOR.

(Application filed July 12, 1900.)

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M i a l I l I llllllllll A [/VVE/VTOR Af/amey Patented Jan. 8,190].

No. 665 8l4.

n. TRUST.

REFRIGERATOR.

(Application filed July 12, 1900.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shea! 3.

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UNITED STATES ATENT Trice.

HENRY TROST, OF COHOES, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM E. BURTON, OF WATERFORD, NEW YORK.

REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 665,814, dated January 8, 1901.

Application filed July 12, 1900. Serial No. 23,358. tNo model.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY TROST, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oohoes, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvem cuts in Refrigerators; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. 7

My invention relates to refrigerators, and particularly that type intended for domestic or household use, in which, as usually constructed, there is an ice box or compartment and a provision chamber or chambers through which the cold air from the ice-compartment passes. It is an improvement upon this class of refrigerators that I have designed and which will be described in detail hereinafter, illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, and the novel features of which will be set forth in the appended claims.

The essential and novel features of my in- ,Vention are the provision whereby the foodcompartment is-placed between two cold-air boxes, one above and the other below, means for cutting off communication between the said food-compartment and lower cold-airbox,

drainage devices from the upper cold-air box, in which the ice is placed, which prevent any of the water from the melting ice from entering the said food-compartment, and a novel construction of refrigerator frame or casing whereby a swinging door or leaf is provided which effectually conceals the drip-pan beneath the refrigerator when such a pan is used and which may be easily and quickly swung out of the way when it is necessary to remove the said pan for the purpose of emptying it or for the purpose of cleaning beneath the refrigerator.

Other novel features will appear hereinafter and full description thereof made in connection with the drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is an isometrical projection of a refrigerator embodying my invent-ion, the doors of the three compartments being open to show the interior arrangements. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the refrigerator in a vertical plane from front to rear. Fig. 3 is a view'similar to Fig. 2 in a plane at right angles to the plane of section of Fig. 2. Fig. '4 is a plan view of the bottom of the food-compartment or provision-chamber to show the communicating parts between said compartment and the one below it and the slides or valve-plates which control said openings, the Walls of the refrigerator being in section. Fig. 5 is an isometrical projection of the removable rack in the ice-box, upon which the ice or, as shown,

the ice pan or receptacle stands and which has an interior lining of zinc or other suitable metal, said refrigerator being divided into three compartments, the upper compartment 2 being separated from the compartment 3 immediately below it by a drip-tray 4,

of zinc, said tray 4 being supported on a crosspiece5, running from front to rear of the re frigerator and having its upturned edges 6 resting flush against the front and back walls of the refrigerator, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that a clear space 7 is left between the edges 6 of the tray 4 and the side walls of the refrigerator, this space 7 being for the purpose of establishing communication between compartments 2 and 3 and allow the cold air to descend freely into the said food-compartment 3. It will be seen that the bottom of the tray 4 is inclined from front to rear see Fig. 2) and from one side to the other, (see Fig. 3,)

so that it will drain to one corner, and at such 5 lower corner is located a drip-pipe 8, to which reference will presently be made. The inclined bottom of said tray 4 would cause the ice-pan 9 to assume a tilted position and a consequent overflow at its lowest corner, if

it were placed directly in the inclined tray 4, and in order to insure a level position of said pan 9 and the proper discharge of the water therefrom to the drip-tray through the drip-holes 10 in the bottom of said pan I provide a pan-supporting rack of peculiar and novel construction. Said rack, as shown in Fig. 5, consists of three slats or bars 11, on which the pan 9 rests when in position, said bars 11 being mortised or otherwise secured to end pieces 12 of unequal heights, so that said rack when placed in the inclined tray 4 will, by reason of the end-supporting pieces 12 of unequal heights, maintain the pan-supporting slats 11 and the pan 9 in a level position. Said end pieces 12 are tapered slightly on their lower edges to compensate for the sidewise slope of the tray 4 and insure a level support for the pan or ice on the slats 11, and their upper edges extend above the top of the bars 11, so as to form flanges 12 to guide the ice-pan. This compartment 2 is accessible from the front through the door 13, and it will be seen that the ice-pan 9 and its supporting-rack may be readily removed from the tray 4 for the purpose of cleaning the parts. The compartment 3, immediately below and in communication with said ice-coinpartment 2, is the food-compartment and is preferably closed by a separate door 14, having a double glass front 15, that the interior may be visible at all times, the double glass, with an intervening airspace, giving better insulation from heat and preventing obscuring of the interior by reason of condensed moisture on the glass. In said compartment 3 is mounted a series of shelves 16, of any desired number, which are supported at their edges bya series of rods 17, four being shown, which are secured at their upper ends to a cross-shaped frame 18 and at their lower ends to the bottom shelf of the series by means of nuts 19, threaded on the ends of the rods. The shelves are spaced at suitable or desired distances from one another by means of spacing thimbles or sleeves 20, slipped over the rods. The shelves and supporting frame just described are rotatably mounted within the compartment 3, being made round, as

shown, and rotatably supported by trnnnionson journal-blocks 21 21, secured to the frame 18 and the lower shelf, (see Figs. 2 and 3,) said journals taking their hearings in blocks 22 22, carried by the tray-supporting crossbar 5 above'and the bottom 23 of compartment 3 below. It will be seen that by the construction described above a rotary series of food-carrying shelves is provided, which are spaced from one another at any desired distances, in which there is no central spindle to obstruct the putting in or taking out the food, 850., the whole construction being light, simple, and so mounted as to be easily rotated.

The food-compartment 3 is separated from the compartment 24 beneath it by means of the floor 25, which is mortised into the front and rear walls of the refrigerator-casing 1 (see Fig. 2) and so upheld, but'which has a clear space 26 between its side edges and the side walls of the refrigerator-casing. (See Fig, 3.) The floor 25 is preferably covered by a zinc plate 27, which fills the entire area of the casing 1, extending over the spaces 26 between floor 25 and the sides of the refrigerator, such extensions of the zinc plate 27 being provided with a series of holes or ports 28, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. It will be seen that the compartment 24 will receive the cold air which falls from the ice-box 2 into compartment 3 through said ports 28, and in order to control the supply of cold air to said lower compartment 24 I provide plates 29,

pivoted at one end at 30 and being upturned slightly at the other end, so as to form a handle 31. These plates 29 when lying close to the side wall of the refrigerator, as shown at the left in Fig. 4, will completely cover the ports 28 and no air can pass to compartment 24 from compartment 3; but by swinging said plates inward, as shown at the right in Fig. 4, the ports 28 may be partially or wholly uncovered. The compartment 24 may thus be cooled by the air from compartment 3, and, as shown in Figs. 1,2, and 3, it is also cooled by reason of the fact that in it may be placed a drip-pan or waste-water receptacle 32, the drip-pipe 8, hereinbefore referred to, passing from the drip-tray 4 down through compartment 3 at one corner thereof, (see Figs. 1 and 3,) enters compartment 24, and delivers into the drip-pan 32. The water received from the drip-tray 4 has a cooling effect on compartment 24, and it may be used for a storagecompartment, if desired, a door 33 closing the said compartment 24 atits front. The drippipe 8 may pass through the bottom of the refrigerator, if desired, and deliver to a drippan placed beneath said refrigerator 1, and in order to furnish means whereby a drip-pan may be readily placed or removed from under the refrigerator I have provided the following construction:

At the bottom of the refrigerator-casing and at the front thereof isa leaf or door 33*, pivoted at its ends near its upper edge in blocks 34, secured to the bottom of the refrigerator. Said pivoted door 33 bears against stops 35, formed on the blocks where hanging in its vertical position, (see full lines, Figs. 6 and 7,) but may be swung outwardly and upwardly to a horizontal position and pushed back to the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 6, ways 36 being formed in the blocks 34 to receive the ends of said door 33 when thrown to its horizontal position, the bottom of the refrigerator being channeled at 37 to allow the door to swing on its pivot, and yet permit a comparatively close joint between said refrigerator-bottom and the top of the swinging door 33 as will be seen in Figs. 6 and 7. This permits the construction of a refrigerator-casing in which the ornamental effect of moldings, 850., may be carried out on all four sides of the refrigerator, as seen in Fig. 1, and the necessity of leaving a gaping opening at the bottom in the front of the refrigerator to ad unit the drip-pan is obviated, while at the same time, by means of the pivoted door above described, access to the drip-pan for removal of the same or for the purpose of cleaning beneath the refrigerator is easy.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is- 1. The refrigerator comprising a central food-compartment, a top ice-compartment and a bottom storage-compartment, the central compartment being separated from the top compartment by a partition, the ends of which are set back from the sides of the refrigerator-body for the passage of air-currents between the two compartments, and separated from the bottom compartment by a partition which is formed with ports at opposite ends for communication with the bottom compartment, rotatable shelves in the central com partment, a separate door to each compartment, and independently hand operated valves for controlling the ports in the lower partition so as to establish or cut off communication as may be desired between the central food-compartment and bottom storage-compartment when the doors are closed, substantially as described.

2. A refrigerator having an ice-compartment, a drip-tray in said compartment the bottom of which is inclined so as to drain to one corner thereof, a drip-pipe at said drainage-corner, a food-compartment below said ice-compartment and communicating therewith, a series of rotary shelves in said foodcompartment, a cooling and storage compartment below said food-compartment and connected therewith by ports, into which said drip-pipe delivers, pivoted plates to control the said ports and a waste-Water receptacle in the bottom sto rage-compartment at the delivery end of the drip-pipe, substantially as described.

3. In a refrigerator having an ice-compartment, the combination with a drip-tray having its bottom inclined in two directions and provided with a drip-pipe at its lowest point, of a leveling pan-supporting rack having end su pports of unequal heights and tapered lower edges in said drip-tray, an ice-pan having a perforated bottom on said rack, said refrig erator having a food-compartment below said ice-co mpartment and in communication therewith, a shelf-supporting frame in said foodcompartment comprising a series of rods on which the shelves are mounted, spacingsleeves on said rods to separate and hold said shelves in position, trunnions at either end of said frames, bearings for said trunnions, a storage and cooling compartment below said food-compartment into which said drip-pipe delivers, ports connecting said food and storage compartments, and plates pivoted at one end in said food-compartment to cover said ports when desired,substantially as described.

4. In a refrigerator, the combination with the cross-bar 5, of the inclined drip-tray 4: mounted thereon, said tray dividing the icecompartment 2, from the food-compartment 3, with the exception of cold-air spaces 7 at either side of said tray, a leveling ice-rack mounted in said tray, a bearing-block 22 on the under side of said cross-bar 5, a shelf-supporting frame having a trunnion 21 mounted in said bearing-block 22, a floor 25 dividing said compartment 3 from a cooling and storage compartment 24 in the bottom of the refrigerator, ports 28 connecting said compartments, port-controlling plates 29, a bearingplate 22 fixed to said floor 25, and a trunnion 21 on said shelf-supporting frame; whereby said frame and shelves are rotatably connected Within said compartment, substantially as described.

5. A shelf-supporting frame for refrigerators comprising two end heads provided with trunnions, of a series of circumferentiallyplaced rods secured near the peripheries of said heads, a series of shelves mounted on said rods and spacing thimbles or sleeves on said rods between the said shelves to hold them in position on said rods said thimbles extending from one shelf to another, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY TROST.

Witnesses:

PHILIP Tnos'r, ELLA HOCHSTRASSER. 

